Oh the goodies keep on coming don’t they?!  My own personal 80s wish list is gradually being granted by the major labels and this week one particular gem from the period has finally made it to CD.  The Goonies remains a firm favourite indeed with its unforgettable characters, exciting on-screen hi-jinx, and probably the funniest retelling of a vomiting incident ever captured on film.

With the names Steven Spielberg, Richard Donner and Chris Columbus at the head of the movie, you’d think that John Williams might have taken on scoring duties, even Goldsmith…  But it fell to Dave Grusin to do the honours and he proved he was more than ‘Good Enough’.  The composer – who is about to celebrate his 75^th Birthday – created a fittingly colourful and swashbuckling adventure score for the film and it soon became one of the most sought after film scores by fans.  Epic released a soundtrack selection, which of course included Cyndi Lauper’s catchy title song, but Grusin’s score has remained unreleased in any official/wide capacity.  Amblin Entertainment did release a double gold disc set in 1998 for the Japanese market which included a disc of cuts from the score, alongside the original song album.  That’s all changed though as Varese Sarabande have included the complete score in their latest line up of Soundtrack Club releases, announced this week, limited to 5000 copies.

Joining The Goonies is the world premiere release of Jerry Goldsmith’s 1962 score for The Spiral Road.  The score, described as ‘sprawling, exotic and complex’, comes from the little known Rock Hudson vehicle about a physician caught up in all kinds of black magic goings on in Java.  It’s certainly an early example of the composer’s prowess and his many fans will want to snap this up right away.  The album is limited to 3000 copies.

Already snapped up are the final two titles, which were limited to 1000 a piece.  First up was a double header from Bill Conti, both taking in sporting antics.  The Scout was a brief 1994 effort concerned with Baseball, while Dreamer was a bowling drama from 1979.  Selections from both scores are presented on one disc, nicely ticking off a couple more unreleased entries on the Bill Conti filmography.  Varese are certainly doing their bit in this regard, with this double release the latest in a long line of the composer’s works on CD from the label.

Finally Philippe Sarde’s 1986 score for The Manhattan Project made it to CD for the first time, with a direct re-release of the original Varese LP presentation.  Marshall Brickman’s film inspired the talented and underrated composer to create a scintillating underscore, typically beautiful in places and with oodles of creative flair.

You can find out more by visiting www.varesesarabande.com, where you’ll find sound clips and order information.  All titles begin shipping on March 15^th…  Get in quick!

Michael Beek